Published on February 20th, 2022 | by Madhudvisa dasa
Krishna Camp at Rainbow Festival — Colorado 2022?
The Rainbow Family are contemplating a grand reunion festival this summer, 2022, in July somewhere in Colorado to celebrate 50 years of Rainbow Festivals. Over the years Hare Krishna devotees have attended Rainbow Festivals and operated kitchens, cooking prasadam and serving the people but will there be a Krishna Camp at this upcoming 2022 Tribal Reunion – World Rainbow Gathering in Colorado this year?
We have a fabulous documentary on the 2005 Rainbow Festival “Krishna Camp”:
https://youtube.com/KrishnaTube
There are many devotees who would like to participate, but it requires some organization. We need the 2022 version of the 2005 Krishna Camp organizers. We need a 2022 version of Bhakta Eli and Manu… So we need some young devotees to step up and take responsibility and organize some preaching activities. Like this 2022 Krishna Camp.
You can not expect others to act. If you want something to happen you have to step up and take the responsibility and organize it yourself, there needs to be leadership actually. To organize things, to coordinate things. I know this is not the Rainbow ideology. But it is history. Even in the Rainbow gatherings if you search you will find actually there are some organizers, otherwise it is not possible to get anything done…
In 2005, Bhakta Eli, the coordinator of Krishna Camp, was nobody important in ISKCON, he was not a “big” devotee. He just decided that he wanted to organize a huge prasadam distribution program for the 2005 Colorado Rainbow Festival. And fortunately at the same time Manu was organizing his US Summer Tour for the Hare Krishna Youth. So Manu’s program and Eli’s program collided to form the fabulous 2005 Rainbow KrishnaCamp. Manu’s two busloads of young Krishna devotees and Eli’s huge prasadam distribution program…
So the point is you don’t have to be a “big” devotee to organize some grand preaching program. Watch this video, there is not even one “big” devotee involved in this program. But you do need common sense and an ability to organize. That is very important. Both Manu and Eli were good organizers. Not everyone can organize things, you need the ability to work with people, to organize, but without overlording. There are plenty of devotees out there wanting the opportunity to serve. But someone, with organizational skills, has to serve them by helping them come together and facilitate things. And when devotees come together with a common goal and pool their talents and resources then somehow by Krishna’s mercy magic happens.
The real Krishna conscious leaders are not the big noisy swamis barking out orders to their followers, but the humble Jayanandas leading by example. We have to think of ourselves as servants, servants of Krishna, servants of Prabhupada and servants of the devotees. And we have to try for that, to become the best servants, not that we want to become the master. Krishna is the master and we are all His servants. We have to work ourselves, very hard and very enthusiastically for Krishna and Prabhupada, like Prabhupada showed us by his personal example, not that we can become like the king and order our subjects around…
So I am looking forward to see the fabulous video out of the 2022 Krishna Camp at the 50th Anniversary Tribal Reunion World Rainbow Gathering in Colorado but it will not happen if this years version of Bhakta Eli and Manu don’t step up and take the responsibility to make it a reality.
And we need this years version of Rasacharya also, to make the video…
ALL GLORIES TO YOUR SERVICE!!
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Your servant
Madhudvisa dasa
About the Author
Madhudvisa dasa My first contact with a Hare Krishna was a most merciful Mataji in Oxford Street, London who sold me a "Higher Taste" cook book in 1984 while I was on holidays there. I started seriously reading Srila Prabhupada's books in Australia 1985 and by 1986 Srila Prabhupada had convinced me "Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead" and "we should surrender to Krishna." I joined the Hare Krishnas in Perth, Western Australia in 1986. Since then I have been chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare, reading and distributing Srila Prabhupada's books and preaching as much as I can. That's my life and full-time occupation now really. I like it more than anything I've ever experienced before. Srila Prabhupada's books are so amazing... Even after reading them all many times they're still fresh and new. They are truly transcendental! That's it really. Now I'm just hankering to once again see the world chant Hare Krishna, dance and feast and float away in the ecstasy of Lord Caitanya's Sankirtana movement as it did in Srila Prabhupada's physical presence. Let the whole world drown in the ecstatic flood of love of Krishna!
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Hare Krsna Madhudvisa Dasa,
My wife and I are likely going to the 2022 Rainbow Gathering In the Route National Forest near Craig Colorado for the first week of July. We will depart in our RV some time next week. Do you know if there will be a Krishna Camp presence this year? We would love to join in and help. Thanks
Shawn and Brooke Marshall, Michigan
Greetings. My name is Chaz. I have long been considered a member of the National Rainbow Family of Living Light and Rainbow Warrior. If I can assist you in any way in your travels, I have created the Kind Ride Share to do just that. https://kindrideshare.net is 100% free and there is absolutely no commercialism involved. Consider the option, please.
I do not advocate you use platforms like Facebook, or support that Wall Street empire.
Madhudvisa Dasa,
When and how will we find out exact location in Colorado of this year’s Rainbow gathering?
Bhakta Paul
They appear to be planning Rainbow 2022 Festival using facebook groups at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3792916870779414/
As far as I understand the location is kept secret until just before the festival. I am not an expert. Try and find some devotees who have got experience with the Rainbow Gatherings and make a team and organize it. You need a kitchen. Basic thing that Hare Krishnas offer at the Rainbow Gatherings is prasadam. So to set up a kitchen you need devotees who can cook fabulous prasadam and you need some organizer who can coordinate the logistics, like the bhoga to cook, water, the cooking equipment, the pots and pans, etc, etc. And then you need kirtan party and you know, the whole festival thing.
Everything is “unofficial”. Rainbow Festival has no official organization. But there are some unofficial websites like:
https://www.welcomehome.org
But this site has no information about 2022… Only talks about not having festival in 2020 because of covid.
When and where will this year’s colorado rainbow festival be?
Please see my other reply. It appears they are organizing on this facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3792916870779414/
I wish we could have a rainbow festival in Australia , where I am living, it would be divine.
I suppose that chanting the Maha mantra is the best place to start, brother Madhudvisa Dasa?
Yes. Everything starts from and ends with chanting Hare Krishna. That is the point, we have to become Krishna conscious, so we can become instruments in the hands of Krishna. Means we need to read Prabhupada’s books and learn how to become Krishna conscious. It is easy but at the same time can be very difficult to actually implement in our lives. We need to surrender to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, and that goes against our natures. We came to the material world because we don’t want to surrender to Krishna, but now, to get out, to go back home back to Godhead, we have to learn how to surrender to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna.
Even the basic points we have trouble with: chanting at least 16 rounds of the Hare Krishna mantra every day, strictly following the four regulative principles: no illicit sex, no meat eating, no gambling and no intoxication and finding the time to read Srila Prabhupada’s books at least 1-2 hours a day.
So yes. We have to actually become Krishna conscious ourselves first, otherwise we can’t preach. So it would be pointless to go to the rainbow festival if we ourselves were not firmly fixed in Krishna consciousness. Rainbow Festival is 100% maya, so if we were to go there and have any hope of helping them, we would have to be very firmly fixed in Krishna consciousness, otherwise by the association we would become more in maya and that would mean we could not help them to become Krishna conscious, they would help us to sink deeper into maya…
So yes. You are of course correct. Chanting Hare Krishna and reading Srila Prabhupada’s books, chanting Hare Krishna is a prayer, “Please Krishna engage me in Your service.” So if we chant Hare Krishna Krishna will give us plenty of opportunities to serve Him and Srila Prabhupada, maybe not exactly the opportunities we are looking for, but we have to surrender to the preaching opportunities Krishna opens up for us, even if they are not the ones we actually want to be involved in…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Imagine if Srila Prabhupada ritvik order was obeyed! If the pure writings of Srila Prabhupada wasn’t constantly changed, and each temple was self-sufficient and independent with the poisoner (s) of Srila Prabhupada and their supporters not ruling over ISKCON.
Yes. But in the material world such things do not happen in reality. In reality, as Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur declared, as soon as the self-effulgent acharya disappears there is nothing in this world that can stop the Putanas [demons] from taking over the pulpits [becoming the leaders and preachers of the organization the real self-effulgent acharya established.] (https://krishna.org/organised-religion/)
This is just what happens in the material world. Pure devotee comes, preaches, establishes something pure, and he disappears and it is taken over by demons and rakshashas.
The difference with Srila Prabhupada, of course, is he is still with us, living in his books, but we do not take advantage of that, that is the problem,
Ritvik has not worked anywhere. That is also a movement and also taken over by demons. That is the way in the material world, every time you establish something demons are attracted to the leadership positions and are constantly trying to take it over.
That is the nature of the materialists, they are looking for some way to become the master, they want to find a group of people who they can control, who will worship them. So there is no more attractive position for a demon than ISKCON Acharya… So as Srila Bhaktsiddhanta says, “There’s nothing you can do to keep the Putanas out of the pulpits…”
That is why I am hinting here better to avoid having “big” devotees involved in preaching programs like this. Because “big” devotee almost always means actually big demon…
Chant Hare Krishna and be happy!
Madhudvisa dasa
Hare Krishna, brother Madhudvisa Dasa.
I am very grateful for your preaching Krishna consciousness. Thank you for sharing , as you do. I love Srila Prabhupada’s books, & chanting Hare Krishna Maha mantra . I am so glad you do too ❤️🙏
Hare Krishna, Madhudvisa Dasa ❤️🙏
I simply read Srila Prabhupada’s books, for many hours, every day, & chant Hare Krishna maha mantra, as much as possible, on my own, living a very simple regulated life , with minimal exposure to narratives about worldly goings-ons , and , minimal interaction with society at large in general.
Pandemonium translates as “all demons”.
That is the absolute inarguable truth.
Bhagavad Gita 18:26
The worker who is free from all material, attachments and false ego, who is enthusiastic and resolute and who is indifferent to success or failure, is a worker in the mode of goodness.
A person in Krsna Conscience is always transcendental to the material modes of nature. He has no expectations for the result of the work entrusted to him because he is above false ego and pride. Still, he is always enthusiastic till the completion of such work. He does not worry about the distress undertaken; he is always enthusiastic. He does not care for success or failure; he is equal both in distress or happiness. Such a worker is situated in the mode of goodness.
Om Tat Sat
❤️🙏